A creek on the farm isn't decoration. It's: drinking water (for livestock), garden irrigation (gravity-fed), swimming hole (children in summer), laundry (rinsing), ice house (winter — cut ice, store in cellar until summer), fish (trout, perch — dinner), transport (spring log floating).
Protection
Amish don't pollute creeks (mostly). No chemicals — no pesticide runoff. Manure to fields, not water. Buffer zone (trees along banks — 15-20 meters). Result: creeks on Amish farms — cleaner than industrial ones.